The naming of Los Angeles

In 1769, a Franciscan priest Father Juan Crespí accompanied a group of Spanish soldiers on the first European land expedition through California. In his journal he described a ‘beautiful river from the northwest’ and named it ‘Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de la Porciúncula’. In 1781 a settlement by the river was established. This settlement was named ‘El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciúncula’ or ‘The Town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels of the Little Portion’. The official name was simply ‘El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles’. The full name can be abbreviated to ‘L.A.’ which is 3.63 per cent of its original size.